1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric dipole streamer discharge type lightning conductor, which can gather electric charges in the atmospheric air at one side thereof and generate an electric discharge due to a dielectric breakdown when a potential difference is formed between the electric charges gathered by an electric dipole and the electric charges of the earth so as to emit a great deal of electric charges of the earth toward thunderclouds to thereby induce a thunderbolt.
2. Background Art
In general, an electromagnetic field causes a phase change in an area where thunderclouds, which induce a thunderbolt, approach. Such an electromagnetic field rises up to a range of 5 kV/m to 30 kV/m, and a potential difference between the thunderclouds and the earth reaches several tens of millions of volt.
Due to the potential difference between the thunderclouds and the earth, the atmospheric air is in an electric charge state, electric charges of polarity, which is opposite to the polarity of the electric charges in the atmospheric air located at a protruding part on the ground, are increased, and the protruding part emits electric charges by a corona effect when the thunderclouds are increased.
A lightning conductor is protrudingly installed on a building on the ground using the above principle, and so induces a corona discharge through the protruding part thereof and emits electric charges when the thunderclouds are increased, to thereby induce a thunderbolt.
Meanwhile, European Patent No. 0228984 discloses a spark-gap lightning conductor having a grounded metal rod surrounded by a hollow cell made of metal. The rod has one end grounded and the other end having a tip which is protrudingly exposed to the outside through a rounded opening formed on the hollow cell. The hollow cell is insulated from the metal rod by the air, and so, an air gap restricts an interval between the rounded opening of the cell and the tip of the metal rod. Moreover, it is necessary to connect the hollow cell to a central rod due to an isolation resistance of high impedance.
Therefore, if strong thunderclouds occur in the vicinity of the lightning conductor and a falling flash reaches near the lightning conductor, the metal cell is charged in such a way that sparks are formed in the cell, crosses the air gap and arrives at a critical potential transferred to the tip of the rod.
However, the sparks, which formed at both ends of the gap located between the rod and the metal cell, are generated irregularly, and formed at the tip of the rod in a premature manner.
In addition, European Patent No. 0096655 discloses a lightning conductor device including a grounded rod, a first part extending in a radial direction with respect to the rod for easily grasping large electric potential, and a second part spaced apart from the first part and forming an electrode extending toward the rod along a curved passageway located at a short distance from the rod, so that an electric discharge occurs between the electrode and the rod when it storms.
However, the lightning conductors according to the prior arts have several problems in that it is complicated to install the lightning conductors and the lightning conductors are operated unsatisfactorily.